F, H, & S: Part Two

Addison turned the corner of the gym and started walking toward the apartment as her cool down. She put her index and middle finger on her neck while watching the second hand on her watch. The next thing she knew her progress had been abruptly stopped by someone.

“Hey, watch it!”

“Watch it yourself! I wasn’t even moving.”

“Sorry,” was all Addison could manage as she took in the full stature of the man she had apparently accosted in the parking lot. “I’m Addison. Do you go here?”

“I’m Chase and yes I am a student here. Do you run into people every Saturday?” He flashed a confident smile as he leaned on the car he had originally been attempting to enter.

“Most mornings I run if that’s what you mean. Why?”

“Maybe I will have to run into you again some other time.” With that Chase opened the door and slid in to his car. As he drove off he shot Addison another toothy grin.

“What a strange guy.” Addison smiled to herself as she continued across the grass court yard to the front door of apartment 14.

Addison still had a smile on her face when she walked in to find Diedra and Raya in the kitchen holding a box of chocolate covered strawberries.

“Diedra, what are you still doing here? I thought you had to be at work 5 minutes ago?”

“Crap! Crap! Crap! Fill me in on everything tonight.”

Diedra ran out the back door and sped off.

“Fill me in on what? What happened while I was gone?”

“Jasmine got chocolate covered strawberries from her secret admirer, but before we hash that out why are you grinning so much?”

“What do you mean and what secret admirer?”

“I haven’t seen you smile like that since you first got here. Frankly, Addison, you have been a little well down. Now you walk in smiling! Are you going to tell us what happened on your jog or what?”

“Jasmine, how did you get a secret admirer? Any guess as to who it is?” Addison redirected hoping Raya wouldn’t catch on and get distracted.

“Oh no, I’m with Raya. Why are you so happy all of a sudden?”

“I don’t know. I think this guy was hitting on me.”

Jasmine and Raya both looked at each other, smiled, and surrounded Addison on the couch. Raya began the inquisition with “What guy? What did he look like? Where did you meet him?”

“Do you want an answer or are you going to just question me to death?”

“Sorry! Tell us what happened.”

“I just ran into a guy in the parking lot, literally.”

“Did you get his name?” Jasmine asked expectantly.

“Chase, but that’s all I know.”

“Was he tall with dark hair and a Celtic tattoo on his arm?”

“I don’t know about the tattoo, but he was tall and had dark messy hair.”

“Raya, that sounds like Ian’s friend. The one he said just moved out here from California.”

Ian was Raya’s boyfriend of ten months and one of the best huggers on campus. His long arms combined with his towering six foot six inch frame had the comforting effect of completely swallowing a person, even Raya and Addison who both neared six foot themselves.

“It could be. I will call Ian and see if he wants to bring him over for dinner tonight. I was planning on making Belle’s Italian marinade chicken anyway and that always makes a ton of food.” Raya stood up to go call Ian.

“Don’t you dare tell him I want to meet his friend or I will conveniently be out of the apartment.” Addison yelled at Raya as she walked into her room. She turned to Jasmine, “So what’s this about a secret admirer?”

“I don’t know, but it is kind of exciting. I guess Diedra found by doing a face-plant when she tripped over it. Whoever he is, he must know chocolate covered strawberries are my absolute favorite.”

“I thought Nutela and pretzels were?”

“That too.” Jasmine said and the two girls smiled. “Do you want one?” she asked as she started toward the box in the kitchen.

“Sure.”

“Alright, it’s all set.” Raya said as she turned the corner outside her room and entered the living room. Five steps later, she was with Jasmine and Addison in the closet kitchen. “The guys are coming tonight. They will be here at six thirty.”

“You know what that means,” Jasmine interjected.

“No, what?” Addison looked a little confused.

Raya finished, “We only have eight hours to make a scrumptious dinner and to make you gorgeous!” Raya said the last bit with her usual imitation of a New York accent.

Addison looked at them nervously. "What exactly is this going to entail?"

"First of all we have to get the sides for dinner." Raya smiled at Addison. "What did you think we were going to do?" Raya winked and headed back in to her room to get dressed.

"Hey, Jasmine, can I have one of your strawberries? These are my favorite."

"Sure. I won't eat that many anyway. I have to meet my mom and sister for some shopping, but I will be back in time for dinner. Heck, I want to see if Ian's friend is the same guy that made you grin like a kid in a candy store."

"I suppose I'm okay with being a project." Addison took a bite of the strawberry. The thick layer of dark chocolate cracked off into her mouth and mixed with the juice of the berry in an explosion of flavor. If only Addison had known how explosive that night would be and how it would alter the course of the roommates relationships with one another.

Update on FH&S

Since what I have posted previously is a rough draft I will be making changes periodically and adding details/dialogue. When I do this I will do it in GREEN so you can see the adjustments that have been made. I hope you enjoy the story...I will have another installment for you Saturday.

F, H, & S: Part One Continued

Raya smiled back at Addison as she left.

"Did you make some coffee?" Belle asked Raya as she headed back into the bathroom to begin her makeup and hair ritual.


"Yep. Want me to make you a cup?'

"Sure!"

Raya set her journal and Bible on the stained couch cushion in preparation for taking a break from writing, "I need a break from this poem anyway."

"What?" Belle yelled over the whir of the hair dryer.

"Never mind!" Raya yelled as she began to make Belle's sweet vanilla coffee. Raya was the resident coffee virtuoso, but wasn't really the strong coffee type. All the roomies liked it best when she made the coffee, except Addison who always liked it black and strong. Military coffee as she called it, which had always been odd since she was in no way connected to the military.

The aroma of the vanilla and freshly brewed coffee began to rouse Diedra. Raya would have to make her a cup as well. She enjoyed making the coffee and seeing the gratitude on the roomies’ faces, but she had to admit that the assumption and expectations sometimes became a burden. She delivered the over sized cup to Belle who was now on to curling her blond locks.

"Thanks! You know, you should open a coffee shop. I would pay you to make my coffee any day."

"How about now?" Raya said expectantly with her hand on her hip and her lips in a lopsided smirk.

Belle froze and looked at Raya in the mirror. "Are you serious?"

"No, dork."

"Oh." Belle paused to study Raya's expression and then went back to curling her hair.

Raya chuckled to herself as she headed back to the kitchen to start Diedra's cup. It wasn't hard to get a confused look from Belle, especially before she had her morning coffee and Raya relished every moment she could. She passed Diedra, who was now looking sleepily toward the kitchen.

"Don't worry, I'm making it now."

"Cool! Thanks." Diedra stretched then sprang to her feet like something had bitten her on the butt. She sprinted toward the bathroom. "Heads up! Gotta pee!"

Raya laughed as Belle jumped out of the way with a gasp expressing her frustrations. "Why don't you keep doing your makeup? She's only peeing."

"Oh gross!"

"Honey, out of all of us you have the least amount of modesty."

"Yeah, but I draw the line at toilet related body functions."

Diedra came swaggering out of the bathroom with Belle's cup in hand, bringing it close to her lips, and baiting Belle all the while.

"Uughh! Diedra, that's my coffee."

"Relax, I didn't actually drink any." Belle grabbed the cup and headed back into the bathroom to finish getting ready.

"Here ya go Diedra. I put it in a travel mug so you can take it with you back home."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Nothing." Raya sat down at the kitchen table and prepared for entertainment. "Last night you said you needed to leave by 9:30 and it's now 9:20."

"WHAT!? Thanks I gotta go." Diedra grabbed her duffel bag and threw open the back door.

Raya turned just in time to see Diedra do a face plant into the grass. "Addison said you had coordination issues, but that was hilarious! Are you okay?"

" I will have to thank Addison for that during practice Monday. What the heck is this box doing outside your back door?" Diedra said as she rolled over and examined her knee.

"I don't know. Does it say anything on it?" Raya topped off her coffee and sat back down at the kitchen table.

"It's for you."

"What?"

"Are you expecting anything?" Diedra stood up and brushed the dry grass off her arms and legs.

Raya walked over to the door to inspect the box. "No, are you serious?" She picked up the box that was deceptively light and placed it on the kitchen table. "Diedra, this isn't for me. It says care of Raya, that's what the c/o means."

"Well who is it for then?"

"I don't know there isn't anything else written on it."

"Open it."

"Don't you have to get to the Y?"

"Macy will cover for me till I get there. Now open the box!"

Raya studied the generic brown packing paper to determine the least invasive way of opening it in case she needed to re wrap it for the true recipient. The end opened easily to reveal red wrapping paper so she ripped through the remaining paper to see if anything else was written on the new wrapping.

"It's for Jasmine."

"How do you know?"

"Diedra, there's a card."

"It's not her birthday is it?"

"No..."

"Who do you think it's from then?"

"I don't know"

Diedra pushed past Raya. "Jasmine! Get up! You got a box!"

In a moment, Diedra returned tot he kitchen with Jasmine who was trying unsuccessfully to rub the sleep from her eyes.

"You woke her up! This could have waited till later."

"No it couldn't, I have to be at work. I should be at work."

"Can someone tell me what's going on? Diedra, why did you wake me up, this is my one day to sleep in?"

"Diedra is being a snoop."

"Hey!"

"She tripped over this box on her way out and now has to know what is inside it for her life to be complete and fulfilled."

Jasmine smiled as she caught Raya's sarcasm. "I'll open it so Diedra can get to work, but who is it from?"

Diedra jumped in, "that's why I can't leave yet, we don't know who it's from."

"Oh," was all Jasmine said as she opened the card and read it. "I have to sit down."

"Why?" Diedra grabbed the card to read for herself as Jasmine sat on the couch.

Diedra read the card out loud, "Dear Jasmine, You were beautiful last night. E"

"Who's E?" Raya questioned.

"I don't know."

Diedra and Raya looked at each other, grinned, and in unison said, "You have a secret admirer."

Raya followed up with, "Where were you last night that you would have been beautiful?"

Jasmine broke from her trans, "Gee thanks."

"I didn't mean..."

"I was no where. I was with you guys last night."

"You guys are forgetting something."

"What?" Raya turned to look at Diedra.

"What's in the box?" Diedra squealed. "Whoever this E is, he got you a gift! Are you going to open it or what?!"

"Oh yeah!" Jasmine walked over to the box and began unwrapping it. Inside she found a box of chocolate covered strawberries.

F, H, & S: Part One

Okay so I feel like I am on a roll and want to keep it going so here is your second instalment...enjoy!

Addison woke up at 8:45 Saturday morning still a little homesick. She rolled over and looked at the team photo of the Avalanche on the wall next to her bunk. She had wanted to escape the cold, but missed her friends back in Denver. Besides that, Phoenix was stinking hot.

She lay in bed going through the list of things she wanted to get accomplished that day, which wasn't very long since classes had just started 2 weeks ago. Between volleyball practice and class, she hadn’t had much free time to explore the Paradise Valley area around the college. Addison decided she wanted to hit the mall after doing some of her New Testament Survey course work. First she would go workout to get the blood flowing. Just then the bunk started moving signaling Belle's arrival into reality. Addison rolled back over just in time to see something that would be irreparably burned into her memory.

Belle's bare legs hung over the edge of the top bunk for a split second before the rest of her near naked body followed. Addison saw the navy blue lace thong slicing through the flat, white butt of Belle and immediately hid her face under her purple fleece blanket.

"Belle! A little warning next time."

"Sorry." With that Belle grabbed her clothes to hop in the shower.

Addison heard the door to the bathroom close and the shower water start to run before she ventured to peek out from her purple safe-haven. It had been only six weeks since Addison had started at a new college, in a new city, and in a new state, and getting used to roommates was proving to be somewhat of a challenge. Especially one as liberated as Belle.

Addison looked in the closet mirror as she slipped into some form fitting workout pants, a tank top, and pulled her hair back into her characteristic ponytail and wondered if she would ever truly fit in with the other seven roomies. She knew she would always be close to Raya, after all they had been best friends since kindergarten, but she wasn't so sure about the others.

Since she had arrived on campus, Addison found herself trying to be everything to everyone. She tried to be the athlete to get to know Deidra better, but that seemed to backfire since she wanted to hang out with Jasmine, Belle, and Mona mostly. Addison found it a little depressing that someone she brought into the “roost” hit it off with the girls faster than she did. She became the soap watcher/updater for Tamah who was completely addicted to a new soap called Passions. Her favorite roll, as difficult as it was, had to be the schemer/goof ball which she became to try to fit in with Belle. The philosopher, or at least thinker, was the persona she took on to fit in with Jasmine and Narissa. With Mona, Addison had no clue where to begin and mostly felt uncomfortably awkward. These girls had known each other for at least a whole year before Addison came into the picture, and finding her place hadn't been easy.

Addison was putting her tennis shoes on when Belle walked back into the room. The blue towel was wrapped around her blond hair, turban style. The shower had done a number on the remnants of her makeup from the previous day. Addison had learned she could count on the raccoon eyed Belle to put a smile on her face each morning.

"Where are you off to this morning?"

"Jogging. Do you want to come?"

"As fun as that sounds, I have to be at work by 10:30." Belle worked at Lone Star Steakhouse which fit right in with her interest in country music and her hyper activity.

"How long are you working?"

"I am covering a shift for Lacey, so I will be there till close. Bring on the tips."

"Hope you do well," Addison said as she walked out of the room and headed toward the kitchen. Diedra was still fast asleep, her blond curls looking like a rouge cue tip sticking out of the top of Raya's plaid blanket. Mona had already left, and replacing her was Raya. She sat on the shabby blue couch in her over sized plaid flannel pajama pants, glasses on, reading her devotion. Addison smiled at her as she walked out the back door to hit the neighborhood streets.

Flimflam, Hijinks, and Solidarity: The Prologue

Bang, bump, thud!

The quick succession of sounds and actions made Deidra's stomach drop. Deidra's eyes focused in on the sapling as she remembered she was in Sexy Lexy, Belle's red Saturn, and not her own car. She jumped out of the driver's side to assess the damage and saw that the white granny panties were still hanging from the car's antenna. It was all she could do to keep from buckling over in laughter as she pictured that glorious moment when Belle opened the box to find her very own pair of tent sized, granny panties. The horror that filled Belle's eyes as she squealed and threw them across the room followed by the eruption from the roommates, Deidra knew would be legendary.

She forced herself to gain her composure and look at the front of the car. As her eyes scanned the bumper, she heard Raya and the others preventing Belle from retrieving her car laughing all the while. There was no visible damage to the car, but the sapling would never be the same.

Diedra hopped back in Sexy Lexy and drove the hundred yards around the freshman dorm to the back door of apartment 14. As the uncontainable rag tag group of roommates came into view, Diedra couldn't help musing how this strange group of girls came to be such close friends. Most people would not think of finding these eight personas in the same room let alone infringing on one another's lives.

Diedra slammed on the brakes and stopped just in front of the curb.

"Get those things off my car!" True to form, Belle was making a commotion about the granny panties, demanding attention while the others laughed hysterically.

"Belle...it isn't that big a deal, seriously!" Addison said in between fits of laughter and the essential breathing.

"Diedra, take those things off this instant!" Belle asserted with the stomp of her right foot which only served to throw the others into a new fit of laughter.

Standing behind Jasmine for protection, Diedra decided to share the tale of the unfortunate sapling, "Dude! I hit the tree."

"What!?" Mona and Tamah choked out together.

"The one on the other side of the freshman dorm," Diedra responded flinching as she noticed Belle had stopped laughing. "The car is fine Belle, but I can't say the same for the tree."

"I gotta see this," Addison asserted as she began running to the far side of the parking lot followed by Narissa and Raya. The minute Addison saw the tree holding on for dear life at a forty-five degree angle, she laughed through her nose and sat down to keep from falling over. Raya sat down next to her laughing to the point of tears.

Narissa interrupted the laughter, "I think I saw the RA's light go on in the girls dorm!"

"Crap!"

With that all three girls ran back to the apartment. They jumped over the curb and sprang to the back door.

"What's going on?" Tamah asked.

"RA's" was all Narissa had to say and all eight girls hurtled into apartment 14 landing on the couches.

The rest of the night was a whirlwind of laughter.

As usual, Tamah had plans Saturday so she was the first to leave. Eventually Narissa snuck over to her apartment, a whole five feet away; while Mona and Diedra claimed the two couches in the living room. Who knows what the night held for the girls dreams, but one thing was for sure, if it was memorable it would be talked about the next morning.

This group of girls had a unique mix. There was the confidant, the comedy relief, the sympathizer, the naive, the sporty, the unpredictable, the intellect, and the creative. All playing their part. Each leaving the others changed. If it weren't for this group, who knows where each girl would have ended up.

Tune in the find out what happens!